Living in Portugal
Streaming Services in Portugal
Streaming services differ from country to country! But worry not, with this guide you’ll know where to find your favorites in Portugal
Top Apps that will Make Your Life Easier in Portugal
After moving to Portugal, there are a number of mobile apps that can help you settle down in the country. Whether for public transport, talking with friends or shopping, these must-have apps can make life a lot easier for you – not just while settling down, but for the whole duration of your stay.
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Finding a home
When you’re just starting to think about moving to Portugal, these apps can be very helpful with giving you an idea of the real estate market. Of course, after that, working with a buyer’s agent is always your best option. These are also great if you’re looking for only a short-term stay.
Airbnb
The leading short-term accommodation app is also very used in Portugal and perfect for finding a place to stay while you’re just visiting. It’s the most popular so it holds a large variety of options; however, this also makes it generally more expensive and sought after.
Booking
Similar to Airbnb, but slightly less popular and with options for hotels and hostels also, thus making it a bit cheaper.
Imovirtual
This real estate app was developed by OLX – the leading marketplace platform in Portugal. It allows you to search by region, property intent (buying or renting), typology, price, area and many other more specific characteristics, such as balcony, garage or energy certificate. It’s great because it has something for everybody – even if you’re just looking for a room or an office. Plus, it also allows you to contact the sellers right on the ad pages.
Idealista
Similar to Imovirtual when it comes to search characteristics, but on a broader website that also offers real estate agent services and several articles and news about Portugal. Also has other functionalities such as habitation credit simulation.
Keeping in contact
The most famous instant messaging app in Portugal – used especially for group texting, calling and video chatting. After you move to the country, it can be a great tool in your integration precisely due to the groups feature, where you can meet other immigrants with whom you have things in common.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook is still quite popular in Portugal, especially amongst older people. Thus, Facebook Messenger is favoured – mostly for people you are close with, though. Besides these, other social media direct messages, such as Instagram, are also used.
Transport
Whether you’re just visiting or already settled, public transport apps will be your best friend – this being especially true in big cities where a car is more of a hassle than anything else. However, when you first get to a new city, the public transport system can be very confusing. These apps will help you with that.
Moovit
This is a country-wide public transport platform that includes many types of different transportation, such as train, metro, bus, tram and even walking – giving you a broad understanding of what the best route is for you.
CP
If you plan to travel from town to town, CP’s train service is one of your best options. Portugal has a pretty good train infrastructure that’s particularly great for travelling between neighbouring towns, making it a very sought-after option in the suburbs of Porto and Lisbon. In both of these cities and also Coimbra, you can buy a monthly pass that has discounts and includes other methods of transport. There’s also a general monthly card for regional CP trains.
Move-me.AMP & Carris
Specific for Porto and Lisbon buses and trams, respectively. These can lag and be wrong sometimes but they are still great for checking timetables and routes of the different lines.
Flixbus
Although Portugal’s train system is rather good, long trips, such as Lisbon – Porto, can be expensive. A good alternative is Flixbus, a European bus system that’s significantly cheaper and has many trips between major cities every day.
Lime, Bolt, Bird, Link & Gira
Scooters have been growing immensely in popularity in major cities – even to the point of being banned in Paris recently. They are a great option for short trips but be careful – bike/scooter tracks aren’t very common in Portugal and it’s illegal to ride these vehicles on the sidewalk.
Shopping Apps
OLX
As previously stated, OLX is the biggest marketplace app in Portugal. Here you can sell and buy pretty much anything, including clothing, furniture, vehicles and even services. Its downside is that everything is arranged between buyers and sellers themselves – pathing the way for possible scams. What we recommend is that you search by area and arrange for the selling process to be in person.
Vinted
The leading secondhand clothing app in Portugal and Europe. You can also find other miscellaneous items on there, such as books, animal toys and decorative items for your home, but it is mostly a fashion app. What’s good about it is that the buying process is done in-app and covered by Vinted – meaning that you are protected and there’s less possibility of scamming. The downside is that shipping fees have been getting more and more expensive.
LIDL plus, O Meu Pingo Doce, Continente Online
Once you get settled in Portugal, you should definitely look into what could be the best supermarket choices for you. After you do that, getting the app or the specific card for those stores is essential. There you can find special promotions, deals and accumulate points. On Continente Online, you can also order your groceries to be sent to your home.
Eating and food delivery
Glovo & getir
Mostly oriented towards food, but includes delivery on pretty much everything you could think of, from groceries, to pharmacy goods and even random tasks, such as picking up an order from somewhere.
Uber Eats, Bolt Food, Just Eat
Food centred delivery with many, many restaurants. Some of them are exclusive to just one app, so definitely get into all of them in order to see all of the available options and get the exclusive discounts.
Too Good To Go
Too Good To Go was created with the intent of decreasing food waste. Restaurants – mostly bakeries – sign up and specify when people can come by to pick up the food surplus of the day for a price advantage.
Entertainment Apps
Watching just regular Portuguese TV can both give you insights into the culture and also help you with learning the language. However, it’s understandable to still want to watch your international TV shows and movies.
Netflix, HBO Max, Prime TV, Disney+
These are the most common streaming services in Portugal – all with different offers and subscription costs. You can read all about them here.
RTP Play
A completely free service and app with many Portuguese TV show and movie options.
Cinemas NOS
Most mainstream cinema theatres in Portugal are managed by NOS. Through the app Cinemas NOS you can not only see what’s playing near you, but also buy tickets and get special discounts long-term.
